Kitchen Garden Thoughts
29 July 2010 by
Jean Johnson
You know, for me the measure free hippie kitchen and garden thing is mostly about beauty. I love the poetry of it all, as I all but testify to in Beyond Measure and Hippie Kitchen--chuckle. The artistry of layering fat slices of tomatoes and fresh mozzarella together for a caprese. ...
Posted in Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Playing with Your Food | 5 Comments »
27 November 2009 by
Jean Johnson
Healthy, thrifty, delicious, and green. That's the whole point behind measure free. The idea that if we quit being slaves to paint-by-numbers recipes we'll be likely to cook more, eat well, be healthy, and save a bundle on the food bill. So at the end of the day, it's not ...
Posted in Bioethics & Sustainability, Family, Friends, & Love, Food Thoughts, Health and Wellness, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Measurefree Cooking, Scratch Cooking, Seasonal, Thrift, Whole Grains | 1 Comment »
3 November 2009 by
Jean Johnson
Once you discover fresh local produce, there's no going back. But the problem for me has always been the spendy price tags at farmers markets. I solved it by growing my own and here's a snippet of this year's harvest.
Kitchen gardens aren't everyone's cup of tea, of course. So Bion ...
Posted in Books, Blogs & Links, Farmers Markets, Food Thoughts, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Thrift | 2 Comments »
1 February 2009 by
Jean Johnson
This blog hasn't been too interactive so far. Instead people tend to email me directly. That's nice. Whatever works.
Here's one I just got from Bob, friend in Northern Arizona, who has grown a four-season organic garden for years with his wife, Beth:
"I put some throw-away skylights over the spinach ...
Posted in Bioethics & Sustainability, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Seasonal, Thrift, Vegan, Vegetables | 2 Comments »
15 August 2008 by
Jean Johnson
Longtime family friend Matt Loggins was here over the weekend so we grilled. It was such a snap.
I brined the shrimp for a half hour in salty water, made a salad out of leftover quinoa, garden lettuces, onion, and cashew cilantro pesto (Cooking Beyond Measure, page 75).
Other than that it ...
Posted in Dinner, Family, Friends, & Love, Fish, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Measurefree Cooking, Sauces, Toppings, & Pestos, Summer, Vegetables, Whole Grains | Add a Comment »
8 August 2008 by
Jean Johnson
Cooking Beyond Measure includes a Carrot Slaw with Frozen Grapes (page 142) for the winter. Once you discover how marvelous carrots are grated on the fine side of your box grater, though, you'll probably be like me and grate them up no matter the time of year.
...
Posted in Equipment, Innocent Sweets, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Kitchen Tips, Lunches, Recipes, Salads, Summer, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Add a Comment »
25 July 2008 by
Jean Johnson
Linda's my new pal. She knows about computers and business and such. So what could I do when she arrived once again to help the cause, but offer a munch.
It was mainly leftovers that took me 15 minutes to pull together. Mahi mahi (because when I talked to Gary ...
Posted in Family, Friends, & Love, Fish, Flavor, Fresh, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Putting Up Food, Spices, Summer, Ultrafast, Vegetables | Add a Comment »
6 June 2008 by
Jean Johnson
I have to credit the farmers' market vendors for getting me hip to green garlic. And once again, now I'm growing my own. You plant garlic in the fall, and each clove you nestle down into the earth will return the favor by becoming a whole bulb.
This time of ...
Posted in Flavor, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Playing with Your Food, Seasonal, Spring, Thrift, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Add a Comment »
30 May 2008 by
Jean Johnson
Later in the season when fava beans are more mature, it does pay to shuck them not only out of their white velvet pods but also out of their individual shells. Now, though, favas go great to the table easily once removed three or four at a time from their ...
Posted in Beans, Dinner, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Lunches, Playing with Your Food, Seasonal, Spring, Thrift, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Add a Comment »
16 May 2008 by
Jean Johnson
No less than fava beans (broadbeans) help illustrate how lovely getting one's vegetables in the spring can be. When mature, favas are a half foot long and the beans within the pods need double shucking to remove tough coats. But now favas are smaller than peapods and so tender ...
Posted in Beans, Kitchen Garden Thoughts, Spring, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 2 Comments »